Machine for manufacturing button-blanks from shells.



No. 769,922. PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904. C. SGHROEPFER.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING BUTTON BLANKS FROM SHELLS.

APPLICATION BILBD APR. e, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 sums-sum 1.

"M Q l-mm v E PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904 U. SGHROEPPBR. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING BUTTON BLANKS FROM SHELLS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6, 1903.

NO MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented September 13, 1904.

[PATENT OFFICE.

CASPER SOHROEPFER, OF DAVENPORT, IOIVA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ED RODLER, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING BUTTON-BLANKS FROM SHELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,922, dated September 13, 1904.

Application filed April 6, 1903. Serial No. 151,356. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, OAsPnR SCHROEPFER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Manufacturing Button-Blanks from Shells, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Heretofore the art of making pearl buttons from shells consisted in first drilling or cutting disk-shaped blanks from the thin panshaped portion of the shell not greatly exceeding the thickness of the button, and the remainder of the shell was thrown away and accumulated in such quantities that they could be used for shell and macadam roads. The blanks thus obtained were first soaked in water, and then portions of their fiat surfaces were chipped off until they were reduced to the proper thickness, and then they were put through the subsequent steps of shaping, drilling the eyes thereof, and polishing the same. This old process has resulted in the waste of tons of shells, which it is the object of my invention to utilize, all except the tailings left after cutting as many cylindrical pieces from the shell of the thickness of a button or greater as the shell contains. This I accomplish in a simple and economical manner by means hereinafter fully described and as particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a sawing-machine having my improve ments applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a full side view of the carrier used in connection with the same having portions of its side broken away to expose the construction of some of the parts thereof, said broken away portion taken approximately on line 3 3, Fig. 4;. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 5 5, Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the billet in dotted lines. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical view of a gang of band-saws capable of use in connection with my invention. Fig. 7 is a similar view of a modified arrangement of the gang-saws. Fig. 8 is an edge View of one of the pulleys shown in Fig. 7. Fig; 9 is a plan view of one end of the carrier, showing a modified construction thereof. Fig. 10 is a front end elevation of the carrier.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a supporting-frame, preferably of a rectangular form and having four legs, one of which, a, and a corresponding parallel upright 0, extending above the horizontal plane of the bed B of the machine a suitable distance, and bearings are secured thereto for the upper pulley b of an- 60 endless band-saw (Z. The lower pulley 0 of this band-saw is secured in bearings carried by a cross-bar connecting the two uprights a and a. The bed B is a rectangular platform .located above the plane of the stationary bearing 0' of the lower pulley 0 and below the plane of the bearings d of the upper pulley 7), which latter is made vertically adjustable, so as to enable the band-saw to be always kept taut. The edge of the bed paralleling the axes of pulleys b and c is in a vertical plane slightly nearer leg (0 than the vertical stretch of .the band-saw farthest therefrom, and the edge of said bed at right angles to its last-mentioned edge approaches near but does not extend beyond the plane at right angles to the axes of said pulley-shafts intersecting the said band-saw. Suitably secured to the bed, next and parallel to the edge thereof which parallels the axes of the pulleys, is a plate O, which has in a longitudinal raised portion thereof a longitudinal dovetail groove 6. Placed and movable back and forth longitudinally in this groove is a correspondinglyshaped slide D, and secured to the upper surface of and movable with this slide is a carrier E. Carrier E is a comparatively long substantially rectangular bodyffrom the end of which farthest from the band-saw a handle E extends and near the end nearest the band-saw is provided with a transverse groove or channel 9, which is preferably semicircular in crosssection and extends from the longitudinal side of the carrier overhanging the adjacent parallel edge of the plate C to a point a distance to the other side of the longitudinal plane of a longitudinal vertical slot G therein, whichthe band-saw enters when the carrier is moved toward it, corresponding to the thickness of a single button-blank. The groove or channel g constitutes a seat for the cylindrical billets from the shell which it is the purpose of my invention to reduce to blanks. When these billets are placed in the groove one at a time, they are made to abut against the closed end of said channel and, then are confined in place by means of a gripping-jaw H. This grippingjaw preferably consists of a simicylindrical body the under flat face of which is adapted to bear down against the flat part of the surface of the carrier in which the channel g is made, and it is provided with a transverse groove h therein, a cross-section of which corresponds to that of channel 9, and is in the same axial plane as said channel 9 when the gripping-jaw is closed down over the same. This gripping-jaw is carried on the end of, the longer arm of a short longitudinally-disposed lever I, which latter is fulcrumed to and between suitable lugs t' t', arising from said carrier, and has the end of its shorter arm pivoted in a suitable manner to the end of the shorter arm of a lever-like handle J, which is fulcrumed between lugs 7'. The longer rear extension of handle J or hand-grasp thereof is preferably kept at the limit of its upward movement by means of a coil-spring/c, the lower end of which is seated in a suitable pocket at the root of stationary handle E and its upper end in a suitable pocket in the under surface of handle J, and by virtue of its action the gripping-jaw is normally kept hearing down over the channeled seat 9, and the cylindrical billet cut from the shell is held securely in place while the carrier is pushed forward, so that the portion of said billet between the slot G and the closedend of the channeled seat 9 is out or sliced off to form a button-blank of the requisite thickness. If desired, the button-blank so made may be removed by hand. I prefer, however, to do this automatically. This I accomplish by a reciprocal bar K, which is placed and has reciprocal movement in a longitudinal channel or passage m, extending the entire length of the carrier, in the under side thereof, between the rear end of the carrier E and the bandsaw. The end of the bar K nearest the forward end of the carrier has its upper surface preferably recessed in such manner as to form a continuation of the lower portion of the channel g, and its rear end is provided with a vertical slot m, down into which a finger M, depending from the under side of the handle J, enters down through a suitable longitudinally-elongated opening in the top of the passage 122. When the handle J is at the limit of its upward movement, finger M will slide the bar K to the limit of its rearward movement, in which position its forward end will be moved to a point to the rear of channel g, and thus withdraw the support from under the button-blank, which latter will thereupon gravitate down through the passage in which said bar reciprocates and through a suitable opening a in plate C and such part of the platform or bed B as may be beneath it into a suitable receptacle below.

As stated, the shell billets are placed in the channel 9 and moved into position for the blanks to be cut therefrom one at a time. When the blank is thus cut and gravitates down through opening a and out of the way, the remainder of saidcylindrical billet or block is moved bodily forward until it bears against the closed end, and the carrier is again moved forward to feed the work to the saw. If desired, instead of using the fingers for thus moving said stock a flat vertically-disposed spring 0 could be used, having its lower end secured below the mouth of the channel 9 to the contiguous vertical side of the carrier in any desired manner and its upper end free and terminating, preferably, in a plane slightly aboy e the mouth of saidchannel when the gripping-jaw is closed down over the same and is provided with an inwardlyprojecting stud p. The normal position of this spring is such that it stands out from the mouth of channel g. When it is desired to push the shell billet in farther, this spring 0 is pushed inward, and stud p enters said channel and engages and moves the same into position to be operated upon by the saw, and when the pressure is released it will automatically spring back into its original position.

If desired, instead of using but one saw I can use'two band-saws 6 and 8, substantially as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and in this event would provide the forward end of the carrier and the gripping-jaw m with two parallel slots 8 and 2,, arranged at such a distance apart that when the saws engage the shell billet they out two bu tton-blanks at once. The saws 6 and 8 are respectively mounted on a pair of right-to-left pulleys 10 10 and a pair of left-to-right pulleys 11 l1,with the stretches thereof moving in the same direction adjacent and parallel to each other; but, if desired, two band-saws 4c 4 could be used that ran around and were actuated by one pair of pulleys 5 5,

as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings. In this case, however, said saws would respectively engage stepped circumferential surfaces of said pulleys 5, and consequently the saw engaging the part of the circumference thereof having less diameter would have its engaging edge in advance of the saw engaging the greatest circumference, and in order for the last-mentioned saw to effectively perform its work the carrier would have to be moved at least the depth of the saw farther than if only one saw were used.

If desired, I can by the simple addition of a band-saw 7 to the band-saws 6 and 8 of Fig. 6 of the drawings make three kerfs through the shell billet at one time. In this event pulleys 9 9 are suitably journal-ed at points between pulleys 11 11, located in a plane parallel to that intersecting the ournals of said pulleys 11 11 and with one of the stretches of the course of the saw near to and parallel with saw 6 and at such a distance therefrom as to cut a blank from the billet of the required thickness. If this stated modified arrangement of band-saws is used, an evident corresponding increase in the number of slots in the forward end of the carrier and grippingjaw would have to be employed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A machine for making blanks for buttons comprising a suitable billet-holder having a channel and having adischarge-openingcommunicating therewith, said holder having a slot extending at right angles to the channel, and intersecting said channel, reciprocal means for normally closing said dischargeopening and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

2. A device of the character described comprising a suitable billet-holder having a channel and having a discharge-opening communicating therewith, said holder having a slot extending at right angles to the channel and intersecting said channel, a spring secured at one end to the holder at a point below the mouth of the channel, the free end of the spring terminating at a point slightly above the plane of the mouth of the channel, a stud on the spring adapted to enter the channel and engage a billet therein, means for normally closing the discharge-opening and a saw adapted to enter the said slot and move past the said channel.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a suitable billet-holder having a channel and having a discharge-opening communicating therewith, said holder having a slot extending at right angles to and intersecting the channel, means for normally closing the discharge-opening, a saw adapted to enter the slot and move past the said channel, a spring secured at one end to the holder, the free end of said spring standing normally away from the mouth of the channel, and means carried by the spring for engaging a billet within said channel.

A. A machine for making blanks for shell buttons comprising a longitudinally-reciprocal carrier having a transverse channel or groove in its upper surface extending part the distance from one longitudinal side toward the other, and a lever having a gripping-jaw on one end the under surface of which has a corresponding companion transverse channel or groove and both said carrier and gripping jaw being provided with longitudinal Vertical slots ex tending in the same plane from the adjacent ends thereof past said grooves, and a saw adapted to enter said slots and move past said channels.

5. A machine for making blanks for shell buttons comprising a longitudinally-reciprocal carrier having a transverse channel or groove in its upper surface extending part the distance from one longitudinal side toward the other, and a lever having a gripping-jaw on one end the under surface of which has a corresponding companion transverse channel or groove and both said carrier and grippingjaw being provided with longitudinal vertical slots extending in the same plane from the adjacent ends thereof past said grooves, a handle fulcrumed mediate its ends to which the end of said lever opposite said grippingjaw is pivotally connected in a suitable manner, and a saw adapted to enter said slots and move past said channels. I

6. A machine for making blanks for shell buttons comprising a suitable billet-holder having a transverse channel in the upper surface of its forward end from the blind end of which a normally closed discharge-opening extends downward, which holder is provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the adjacent end thereof which intersects said channel, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

7. A machine for making blanks for shell buttons comprising a suitable billet-holder having a transverse channel in the upper surface thereof from the blind end of which a discharge opening extends downward, which holder is provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the adjacent end thereof that intersects said channel, longitudinal reciprocal means for normally closing said dischargeopening, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

8. A machine for making blanks for buttons comprising a suitable billet-holder having a transverse channel in its upper surface from the blind end of which a discharge-opening extends downward, which holder is provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the adjacent end-thereof past said channel, devices for retaining said billet in said channel, and means for normally closing said discharge opening, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

9. A machine for making blanks for buttons comprising a suitable billet-holder having a transverse channel in its upper surface from the blind end of which a discharge-opening extends downward, which holder is provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the adjacent end thereof past said channel, devices for retaining said billet in said channel, and means operatively connected to and actuated by said retaining devices for normally closing said discharge-opening, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

10. A machine for making blanks for buttons comprising a suitable longitudinally-reciprocal carrier having a transverse channel in the upper surface thereof near one end and having a discharge-opening extending from the blind end of said channel, a lever having a gripping-jaw on one end provided with a corresponding companion channel in its under engaging surface, longitudinally-reciprocal means for normally closing said dischargeopening operatively connected to and actuated by said lever, said gripping-jaw and carrier being provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the nearest ends thereof past said channels, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

11. A machine for making blanks for buttons comprising a longitudinallyreciprocal carrier having a transverse channel in the uppersurface thereof near one end and a discharge-opening extending from the blind end of said channel, a lever having a grippingjaw on one end which has a corresponding companion channel in its under engaging surface, a handle fnlcrumed mediate its ends to which the end of the lever opposite said grippingjaw is suitably connected, a longitudinallyreciprocal bar operatively connected to and actuated by said handle for normally closing said discharge-opening; said carrier and grippingjaw being provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the ends thereof past said channels, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

12. Amachine for making blanks for buttons comprising alongitudinally -reciprocal carrier having a transverse channel in the upper surface thereof near one end and a discharge-opening extending from the blind end of said channel, a lever having a grippingjaw on one end which has a corresponding companion channel in its under engaging surface,

tending from the ends thereof past said chan nels, and a saw adapted to enter said slot and move past said channel.

13. A device of the character described com prising a longitudinally-reciprocal carrier having a channel near one end, and a discharge-opening extending therefrom, a rigid handle secured to the opposite end of the carrier, a lever having a gripping-jaw on one end which has a corresponding companion channel'to the channel in the carrier, a handle fulcrumed on the carrier intermediate its length to which the end of-ithe-lever opposite the gripping-jaw is .pivoted, a longitudinally-reciprocal bar operatively connected to and actuated by said handle for normally closing the said discharge-opening, a spring interposed between the rigid handle connected to the lever, said spring being adapted to limit the upward movement of the handle and thereby normally hold the gripping-jaw down on the carrier; said carrier and gripping-jaw being provided with a longitudinal slot extending from the ends thereof past said channels, and a saw adapted to enter the slot and move past said channels.

14. A device of the character described comprising a longitudinally-reciprocal carrier having a transverse channel in its upper surface, a lever having a gripping-jaw on one end, the under surface of which has a corresponding companion transverse channel and both said carrier and gripping-jaw being provided with longitudinal vertical slots extending in the same plane from the adjacent end thereof past said grooves, means for normally holding the gripping-jaw down on the carrier and a saw adapted to enter the said slots and move past said channels.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of March, 1903.

CASPER SCHROEPFER.

Witnesses:

J. W. B. MOGEE, HENRY THUENEN, Jr. 

